Gas prices nearing $4-mark
Published 12:04 am Friday, March 30, 2012
Local residents with an upcoming beach trip on tap should fill up here before facing gas prices that, on average, are 20 cents higher per gallon acrossr the state line.
Inside Andalusia, the average price per gallon for unleaded fuel was $3.75 and for premium, $3.99 per gallon. In dollars and cents, that means approximately $50 a fill up for owners of economy-sized cars with regular unleaded; $75 for mid-size car owners; $98 for full-size truck owners; and, $146 for large SUV owners.
Levi Albertson was filling up at the Andalusia Chevron Thursday on his way home to Missouri after a family beach trip to Destin. He said the family elected to drive instead of flying, despite the steep gas prices.
“All in all, it’s going to cost around $400 round trip for gas, which is cheaper than one plane ticket, but prices down here are much higher than where we’re from,” he said.
While it is true local those prices are high, residents should be prepared to pay more the closer one gets to the beach.
In Crestview and Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., prices range from $3.78 to $3.99 for regular unleaded, while premium unleaded tops out at $4.20 a gallon, according to gasbuddy.com, an online gas price tracking website.
In Destin, Fla., prices topped at $3.99 per gallon for regular unleaded.
In Panama City Beach, Fla., prices for regular gas started out 10 cents higher per gallon at $3.85 and topped out at $3.99 a gallon depending on station location.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama urged Congress to end subsidies for oil and gas companies despite repeated criticism from Republicans that such a move will add to already sky-high gasoline prices.
Nationwide, gas prices have risen more than about 6 percent in the last month to an average of $3.92 for a gallon of regular gas, prompting fears the increased prices could harm the U.S. economic recovery.
The president said he would rather use the subsidies to research and develop alternative-energy projects. He said the oil industry is “raking” in profits and is “doing just fine.”
But high prices aren’t stopping Andalusia’s Wallace family from their spring break adventure. Mom Sonia said the family will travel to Montgomery for the week.
“We’re going to the zoo and the capital and such,” she said. “We’re picking up my son who’s coming in from boot camp and we’re all going to spend the week together.”
She said gas prices would have made a difference if the family needed to travel to North Carolina to pick up her son.
“We would have had to trade the Suburban for the Beetle Bug, that’s for sure,” she said.